Hole In One
by writergirl182003
Summary: When Bella takes a job at the Cullen Country Club, and starts at Seattle University, she never expected her live to change as much as it does after meeting the Cullens. AU, All human, Rated M for Adult themes
1. New School, New Job, New Obsession

Chapter 1

New School, New Job... New Obsession.

Bella Swan.

Seattle University, while an amazing campus, was a far cry from Arizona State where I had previously attended. Phoenix was my home for 19 years, but Renee' had moved off to Jacksonville with her fiancé Phil, and Seattle had a better Social Work program. I had originally wanted to go to Seattle to be closer to my dad, but didn't want to be away from my mom, who definitely had her issues with being left alone. I mean, seriously, who needs supervision just to go to the grocery store so she wouldn't come back with nothing but junk? But when she moved to Jacksonville, I knew that Phil would be able to take care of her.

I bid Phoenix good bye, and welcomed the lush, dense forests of the northwestern peninsula. My father is the chief of police in Forks, but Seattle wasn't far from there, and I knew I'd be able to see him at least on the weekends. Unfortunately, moving up here had also depleted any and all funds that I had in my bank account at the moment. I had enough for two weeks worth of groceries, and knew I needed a job. I'd looked everywhere on campus, in the surrounding city, and even around Forks. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Ziltch. Of course, dad offered to help me out with anything I might need, but there's just some lines a girl's gotta draw. I can't have my parents looking out for me all the time. Besides, I was sure dad needed all the money he could get, as officer pay, even the chief's pay couldn't be _that_ great.

I was shocked when Charlie came home one night close to July 4th, and told me that the Cullen Country Club in Seattle had just lost a waitress, and needed the position filled immediately. Apparently, dad knew the Cullens well, and Carlisle, the owner also doubled as one hell of a doctor in the only little hospital Forks held. It was a good paying job, plus tips, so who was I to turn it down?

Walking onto the grounds was intimidating as hell, though. The immaculate grounds, the two story club house, the tennis courts, 18 hole golf course, driving range, and baseball diamond seemed like overkill. But once I got _into_ the building heading for Mr. Cullen's office, I almost turned around and went right back to my truck. The place was so upscale that I almost couldn't stomach it. And the people standing in the lobby, the hallway leading into the racket ball courts, and in the stairwell coming up from the indoor pool... All looked like they belonged on the front cover of GQ magazine.

As I got up to the second floor, and started looking for the right office, of course my complete klutziness decided to rear its ugly head, and make me trip over my own feet, sending me flying toward the carpet, face first. Strong hands grabbed hold of me before I hit, righting me so quickly, I had to wonder if I'd tripped at all. I looked up into dark brown eyes, that had the craziest amount of mischief in them, and a wide grin. "Sorry."

He laughed, and waved his hands at me. "Don't worry about it. You lost or something?"

I shook my head quickly, then regretted it. "No, ... well kinda, I'm looking for Carlisle Cullen's office?"

He nodded, and pointed me down the hallway. "My dad's office is the third door down on the right. You'd be wandering the hallway for an hour wondering, it's not labeled." He grinned widely at me again, dimples in his cheeks indenting. His smile was infectious, and I couldn't help but smile back. He almost reminded me of a little kid with how happy he seemed. No one I knew was that insanely happy without being medicated. "You must be the new waitress? Charlie Swan's daughter?"

I held my hand out to him politely, "Bella."

He grinned, and took my hand in his huge bear paw of a right hand. "Emmett Cullen. Hope you'll like the job here."

I laughed dryly. "I'm sure I will, it's the only job around here."

He laughed and shook his head. "Be seein' ya, Bella."

I turned, and headed, carefully, back down the hallway before pausing in front of the door Emmett had pointed me to. I took a deep breath, and then knocked. A warm voice filtered through the door telling me to come in, and I pushed the door open, and stepped inside.

The office was just as inviting as the man sitting behind the desk. He smiled at me, and gestured to a chair facing him, wordlessly asking me to sit. As I complied, I handed him the job application, and shook his hand. "Thanks for the opportunity, Mr Cullen. I really appreciate it."

He smiled, and set the application aside, barely looking at it. "Not a problem. Charlie is a good friend of mine. We'll start you out at four dollars and hour, plus whatever tips you get. And as long as you do a good job, you'll wind up with two hundred in your pocket a night. Our last waitress, who left us to be able to start her own family, on a slow night still left with a hundred dollars. So you should do fairly well here." He smiled at me, and interlaced his fingers in front of him. "I only expect you to work mainly in the restaurant, but there may be times I ask you to pitch in elsewhere," I nodded quickly to show him it was fine with me, any work is good work these days. "Now, our grounds hold the golf course, tennis courts, baseball diamond, condos on the back of the property, and the clubhouse. There are housekeepers that clean the condos, our last waitress pitched in a few times and helped out when we were short handed there, but still being able to get back in time to do her job in the lunch rush. The clubhouse here holds the pool in the basement as well as locker rooms and showers and gym, the racket ball courts, restaurant, kitchen, gift and supply shop, and check in for condos, golf course, and hiking trails."

My eyes widened in surprise, holy hell it really was overkill here, anything you'd ever want or need to do seemed to be right here on the property, I almost didn't want to know how many acres they had to take care of.

"Any extra help we would ask of you outside of the dining room would be to help clean up in the gift shop, kitchen, and locker rooms at closing, but your job, along with the other two waitresses will be to clean, straighten, and restock the dining area every night before closing, and have it done right so the opening crew can get here, and double check. I like promptness in opening the club."

I nodded sharply in understanding. "Of course."

He smiled, softening his voice as he spoke again. "Now, Bella, when can you start?"

"Now?" I asked, a smile on my lips.

He chuckled. "Enthusiasm, I like that, you'll fit in well here. Once you start at the University, make sure you get me or my wife, Esme, your class schedule so we can make sure to schedule you accordingly. You'll get three days off every week to make sure you won't fall behind on your studies while classes are in session, but during breaks, you'll only get 2 and I'll ask you to work longer shifts. You'll start in the morning. Be here at 7AM sharp." He picked up the phone on his desk, and dialed a number, waited for a moment, and then punched in two buttons before settling it back onto the receiver. Not a full minute passed before a girl poked her head in around the door, black hair smoothed down around her small face, longer strands tucked in behind her ears. "Yeah dad?"

Mr. Cullen gestured to me, smiling. "Alice, this is Bella, our new waitress. Could you take her down and get her a uniform?"

"Sure!" Her voice sounded just as excited as Emmett's had. What was up with this family and their over abundant happiness? She practically skipped the short distance, and took hold of my hand. "Come on Bella."

She tugged on my hand, and I couldn't help standing and following the little pixie like girl out of the room and back down the hallway. She took me into a room by the stairs, and left me by the door as she became lost within the clothing racks.

There were uniforms of every size shape and color in the room, and there was no way I'd be able to figure out where everything was, even with bright neon signs pointing the way. Though Alice didn't seem to have any problem at all navigating through them. Only a few moments later, she emerged holding three button down long sleeved shirts; red, white and black, one yellow ascot, and two black ones to go with them, and six other shirts, all in black, red, and white three long sleeved three short. My eyes widened as I saw everything. "Does this come with the job or do I have to pay for it?" it was a legitimate question, if she really expected me to pay for all of that up front, I was screwed.

Alice scrunched up her nose and smiled at me. "Don't worry about it, Bella. I'll take the liberty of gifting you with these six." She lifted her left arm which the T-shirts and long sleeved shirts were hanging off of.

I shook my head. "No, you... you don't have to do that."

She grinned. "But I want to. They're new, and I love them. I got the long sleeved shirts for the other waitresses. Only Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are the days you're expected to wear the button downs. Black dress pants with those. Monday and Wednesday you can wear jeans, Tuesday and Thursday are the league meetings, and while casual, Dad likes the staff to wear khakis." She held her left arm out, asking me to take one.

I obliged, and pulled the black long sleeved shirt off her arm, and held it out in front of me. By the left shoulder was a crest done in white. A lion facing to the right side of the shirt, with a hand above it, fingers upward as if it were giving a pledge, and a chevron with three shamrocks below it. Below that were the words 'Cullen Club' in a small scrawling font. "Wow. It is nice."

She grinned. "Told you." She held her arm out again, and I took the rest from her, clutching them to my body. "On warmer days you're free to wear shorts or a skirt." She looked over me for a moment, looking closely, her gaze scrutinizing at first, and then she smiled. "Though you seem to be the shorts type of girl aren't you?"

I laughed softly. "Yeah."

She smirked. "Don't worry, I'll change that." I frowned, suddenly worried about this job. But she giggled, a sound that almost reminded me of bells. "Don't worry! I'm not talking mini skirts here. You and I are going to be great friends, I just know it!" She wrapped her arm through mine, and led me back out of the room, pulling the door shut behind her with her foot. "Would you like the grand tour?"

I shrugged. "If I can drop all this off at my truck first, sure." I let her lead me back down the stairs, and out into the long hallway, past the racket ball courts, and through the gift shop to the parking lot. I deposited my clothes in the beat up old Chevy truck, and turned, to find Alice coming up behind me in what can only be called, a tricked out golf cart. I laughed shortly. "Really?"

She nodded, smiling brightly, and patted the passenger seat beside her. I couldn't help the smile that formed on my lips as I stepped toward the golf cart, smirking at the front end that looked like a car, complete with side mirrors and everything. She spun the wheel to the left, and hit the gas, the cart turning on a dime heading back in the opposite direction.

As we neared the edge of the parking lot, she pointed out the driving range and golf course. "Jasper's out there somewhere."

I frowned, looking over at her, tearing my gaze from the lush green hills that lined the course. "Jasper?"

She grinned widely. "My boyfriend, Jasper Hale. You'll like him, he and his sister, who happens to be one of my best friends, are members here." She giggles softly before correcting herself. "Well, their parents are, but of course it extends to the whole family. Rose is best known for kicking everyone's butts on the tennis courts." She lifted her chin in a gesture toward the courts to the left of the club, where a girl... no the female bobbing back and forth between the right and left of the court was definitely a woman, not a girl... she seemed to be winning against another girl, a strawberry blonde who seemed to be straining the limits of the tight shirt she wore. The winning female was tall and lean, her blonde hair pulled back into a pony tail that swung back and forth as she moved, her swings so incredibly graceful it looked almost like she were dancing on the court.

"That's Rose?"

Alice nodded. "The blonde. Rosalie is Jasper's sister."

I watched as Rosalie power served, the bright green ball moving to the other side of the course so fast it was a blur. Yeah, I know a power serve when I see one. I don't play, well, don't play the real thing, but who says that the Wii isn't realistic? The strawberry blonde swung seconds too late, and infuriated threw her racket down, and turned back to a group of girls at the back of the court, throwing her middle finger up at the beautiful blonde winner. Rosalie shouted something back at her, and I could tell by the expression on her face it definitely wasn't something nice. Then she turned, and ran back to the gate where the bear of a male that had steadied me in the hallway took grinning at her. The childish dimples looked as if they were permanently chiseled into his features.

"And that's..."

"Emmett" I responded. "I'm guessing your brother?"

She smiled widely at me. "Yup. Big brother." She smirked at me as I rose an eyebrow. "Quite literally. He's Rose's boyfriend." She turned, looking back at the baseball diamond. "I'm surprised Edward isn't out here yet."

"Edward?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"The middle child of the Cullen family. He's eight months older then I am." I frowned, mentally counting, she must have seen the confusion, because when she spoke next it was to clarify. "I was two months premature. Mom calls me her miracle baby." She smirked, then looked back to the loser of the tennis match, who was heading out of the court, and back to the club house. "Maybe it's a good thing he isn't here, you really don't want to be subjected to profanity your first time here."

I frowned in confusion. "Profanity?"

She shrugged, and started the cart moving again, waving to her brother and friend. I noticed Emmett leaning down saying something to Rosalie, and she glanced at me for a split second, narrowed her eyes, then turned away, moving to a side entrance. "I don't mean in the verbal form. My brother and Tanya..." She nodded her head to the loser. "had a bit of a thing going a year or so ago, it's over for him... but not so much for her."

I nodded, truly understanding what she was saying. She must try to get the 'thing' going back up a lot, and not very discreetly. I tilted my head as I watched her as we pulled away, maybe that's the explanation for the extremely tight fitting shirt.

Alice maneuvered the golf cart around the back 18, pointing out the beginning and ending of multiple hiking trails along the way. She explained they owned over a hundred acres, the hiking trails wrapping around the property ranging from beginner to expert, foot hills, to up the side of the mountains. As we reached the back of the property, I saw the luxurious condos. There were a total of 20 sprawling out around a large lot. Golf carts were parked in the driveways, the lawns perfectly manicured, perfect flower beds were planted in front of the porches. Alice droned on and on about the different families living there, but all I could catch were snippets as my eyes were glued to the homes. The last time I had seen anything so immaculate had been on a spring break trip to L.A. the previous year with friends of mine from ASU.

All I caught were slight bits of her voice saying things like "Cleaned every day", "The Stanleys are there", "She's a bit of a bitch but..." And then her high voice sounded slightly irritated as she spoke again. "Bella, have you been listening?"

I laughed, embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Alice. This place is so beautiful. What did you say?"

She giggled. "I said, we live in that one, you can get a hold of us at anytime you need to, and in fact I'd love it if we could hang out."

I followed her index finger to a large condo... no, a large home at the very back of the lot. Two stories, a large wrap around driveway, large windows in front of the home, so large, in fact, that I could see straight out the back of the house to the forest beyond. "Jeeze."

Alice giggled beside me, making me jump, I was so entranced by the home, I had completely forgotten about her sitting right next to me. "My mom loves the light. And with how little we seem to have up here, she likes to let as much in as possible." She leaned in closer to me whispering, "They are a pain to clean though."

I couldn't help the next words that spilled forward, "The housekeepers must hate you guys."

She laughed. "The housekeepers don't set foot in the home. Mom is determined to keep the house looking good on her own. Or making her kids do it for her." She smiled, and turned the cart around, heading back for the front of the property. "What do you think?"

I laughed shortly, hardly able to process it all. "It's really, really incredible. I can't believe all of this is here."

"There is a lot here. Imagine growing up here. My dad built it from the house outward. We had a long driveway, and Dad just started building." She shrugged, as if it were something so incredibly simple just to build up a golf course and club house on your land.

She took me back to the club house, and to be honest I felt relieved to be back where I'd be most familiar with starting in the morning. She stopped the cart, and smirked, eying a silver Volvo in the parking lot, then her gaze flicked to the baseball diamond where a male form stood, bat at the ready. "Of course, now Edward is here."

I followed her gaze, and watched as he swung, connecting with the ball sending flying to the outfield. I raised my eyebrows, impressed by the hit, as my gaze moved back to him from following the ball as best I could, another crack rang out, and the wooden bat collided with a second ball. "Jesus!"

Alice smirked. "He's one of the best players on the team."

"What team?" I asked, genuinely curious. Charlie liked baseball, and while I was definitely _not_ a sports person, by any means, I figured I could at least tell my dad when there was going to be a game, especially since he knew the Cullens.

"Our team. The Cullen Club Lions." She grinned at me. "My family, some of the club members, and employees play." She reached down, and switched off the cart, leaving it parked next to the club house. "Actually on Saturday there's a game against the Quileutes."

I frowned slightly. I knew that sounded familiar, but I couldn't place it off the top of my head.

Alice, thankfully, took pity on my confused look, and clarified. "The Quileute tribe from La Push?"

Realization dawned on me, DUH! "My dad is really good friends with Billy Black and Harry Clearwater."

She grinned. "That's them. Harry used to play, but he and Billy coach now."

"Do you play?"

She nodded. "I pitch." She paused for a moment, and frowned. "Maybe I can talk dad into letting you help out with the concession stand so you can see the game?"

I shrugged, not really caring one way or another, but she seemed so excited for me to watch the game I just couldn't say no to her. "Ok, if Mr Cullen will let me help out."

She grinned, and squealed a bit with her happiness. "Great! I know he'll let you, I'll just tell him you really want to watch the game since your dad knows the tribe."

I laughed shortly, not wanting her to lie to him, since he was my boss and all, but she seemed dead set on me being down there. "Okay, that sounds great. Maybe I'll mention it to Dad, and he'll be here."

Alice gifted me with a wide grin. "Fantastic!" She just about lept from the driver's seat of the golf cart, and flitted to my side. "So we'll see you tomorrow Bella. Don't forget,to wear black dress pants, it's Friday."

I smiled as I got out of the cart, and made my way to my vehicle and nodded. "Thanks, Alice." I waved as I got into my truck and shut the door. As I started the clunker up, a quick movement caught my attention, I looked up in time to see Alice racing to a cart that was just as 'tricked out' as hers was. This one was red, and looked like a jeep all terrain SUV. It came to a stop as the blonde male driving it jumped out in just enough time to catch her as she flung herself at him. I saw a wide grin settle on his lips, and the adoration he held for her was evident. Her arms wound around his neck tightly, and even from the distance I was from them, I could see him struggling to breathe.

I couldn't help the smile that formed on my lips as I shamelessly watched them. A flash of red caught my eye as the sun peeked out from behind a thin layer of clouds that were perpetually lingering over the northwestern part of Washington. Alice's brother, Edward, had moved from the baseball diamond, and was greeting Jasper and Alice as they moved toward the club house then. I gasped slightly, my jaw dropping probably to my lap as I took in his features.

Perfectly angular, high cheek bones, perfectly straight nose, full lips, a strong jaw line, he was the perfect specimen of _male_. I couldn't help the stares I gave them as they made their way back, but when Alice waved over to me, and he looked in my direction, I swear my heart stopped. The most beautiful clear green eyes I had ever seen in my _life_ gazed at me. A crooked smile spread on those lips, stopping my heart yet again. An amused expression flooded into those eyes and I could see his body jerk with what I could only conclude to be a chuckle, and he shook his head as he draped the equipment bag over his shoulder and moved past his sister.

Holy mother of God, the man was beautiful. I wondered how often he played at the club, and how often I was going to have to be in any kind of close proximity to him. If it was more often than not... I wasn't sure how I was going to survive it.

I shook my head trying to clear it as I pulled the gear shift into first and pulled the truck around heading for the road. I wasn't sure when it clicked on my way back to my apartment, but at some point during that drive, I made the silent vow to myself that I would find out more about Edward Cullen, if only for the sake of my own sanity to survive his striking presence, or at least that's what I kept telling myself.

Even though I only believed it with a tiny portion of my being.

**A/N Thank you so much for reading the first chapter, please review. **

**And thanks to my awesome beta summerleigh, I swear you saved me from too many DOY moments in this chapter, that's what I get for writing too late at night. **


	2. Game Time

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! **

**Disclaimer: since I forgot it in the first chapter, I own nothing, SM owns the twilight characters, and their lives, I'm just playing with them for a while. Also the storyline belongs to ME. Any original characters belongs to me as well. **

**I've been told my commas like to fuck and multiply behind my back. I'm pretty sure after I've caught the offenders this chapter is much better, and I hope that it won't be happening as often. **

**Summerleigh is the best beta evar! Thanks chica!**

Chapter 2

Game Time

Bella Swan

I arrived at the club house at 6:45 AM the next morning, determined to make a good impression. I double checked the black ascot over my white button down blouse, and secured all of my hair back into a brown barrette at the nape of my neck before gathering one of my favorite fountain pens, which I slid into my hair just above the barrette, the clip on it laced through my hair, keeping it in place. Then I grabbed the cappuccino I'd picked up, locked my truck... not that anyone would steal the damn thing, and headed up for the first day of my new job.

But of course, my dumb luck... the place was locked. Thank God it was the middle of summer and not winter. I didn't have to wait any longer than five minutes when an Audi pulled into the parking lot, coming to a stop two spots closer to the building from my truck. Two men and one woman exited the car. I noticed the driver first a man that looked to be in his mid 40's, with dark brown hair and a thin frame. His dark brown, almost black, eyes looked weary, but yet alert as his gaze immediately met mine.

I smiled at him over the rim of the cup, and watched as he pointed up to me, the other male; a tall man with dark blonde hair, and blue eyes. The woman was short, with long black hair, and extremely dark eyes. They both looked at me, curiosity in their gazes. I stood as they got nearer offering a timid smile.

The driver spoke first as he swung his key ring around his finger. "You must be Bella Swan."

I nodded and held my hand out to him. "Yeah, today's my first day." I smiled weakly, still nervous about starting a new job. I hoped starting at SU would go a lot smoother than this was.

He took my hand and smiled as he firmly shook it. "Alistair, I'm head cook. This is Charles, my Sous Chef, and Makenna the head waitress."

Makenna smiled at me, but it didn't seem to go to her eyes at all. In fact, for her overall appearance of being in her late 20's her dark eyes told me she was weary and felt like she should retire. "Glad to have a replacement so fast for Irina." Her voice was relieved, and made me feel at ease, immediately.

I smiled, and laughed shortly. "Yeah well," I gestured to myself, "broke college student needing money. I'm the perfect candidate."

Makenna's smile moved to her eyes finally as she stepped past me and into the now open door. "Come on, I'll show you how to clock in."

She led me up to the second floor into the second door on the left, and showed me where to get my apron, order tablet, and various other items to shove into the pockets. I tied it around my waist, pulled my pen from my hair, and slid the clip on the outside on my right side with the tablet. I then shoved a handful of straws into the left pocket, my cell phone into the right, and left the middle pocket empty as Makenna told me to use it for extra silverware bundles. She then led me to a small machine that looked like a credit card scanner on the wall by the door. She punched in a set of numbers then placed her index finger on a reader on top. I followed her instructions by putting my numerical birthday in, and then allowed it to take my finger print.

Makenna left me in the room to head down to Mr. Cullen's office to get my name tag, and I double checked my over all appearance. Shoelaces tucked into the sides of my shoes, nothing dangling to make me trip, although admittedly I don't really need help to trip. I prayed to whatever deity that would listen to me to let today go off without a hitch. The last thing I needed to do was trip over my own damn feet and spill drinks on someone. She came back into the room after I finished checking myself and handed me a pin that had a small area for my name. It shone on the glossy tape against the pure white background. The same crest was off to the right of my name and I placed it on the right side of my blouse.

"Ready?" She asked as she must have sensed my nerves.

I laughed shortly. "Not really."

Makenna offered a gentle hand on my shoulder. "You'll be fine. Siobhan will be here today, she comes in at nine, I think you'll like her." She nodded her head to the door, I followed close behind her, and pulled the door shut behind me.

Once in the dining room, she handed me a large tub with the silverware bundles, instructing me to lay them out on the tables while she placed the daily flowers in vases, which were already filled with water, in the middle of each table. I did as I was told, only once did the toe of my shoe catch a chair to make me stumble.

Once that was finished we both placed second napkins, folded in a way to tent it slightly on the table, right where a plate would go in front of each chair. We were just finishing the last tables when the first diner came in with his golfing partner. Makenna showed me the ropes of taking an order, how to abbreviate to be able to take it quickly, and showed me where to place the order once we got it back to Alistair.

Things were moving along pretty smoothly, even after Siobhan got there. She was a woman in her late thirties, and exuded a maternal air about her. Makenna was right, I couldn't help but love her. The rotund woman was always quick to catch any mistakes, and help me when I needed her to whenever Makenna couldn't.

Over all the morning was going fantastically. I hadn't even noticed Mr. Cullen poking his head into the dining room multiple times to check on things. I didn't even know he had been there until my lunch hour at 1pm. Siobhan and I got sandwiches from the kitchen, Alistair gave me a fond smile before waving to me as I left the dining room, and headed back up to clock out for my lunch beak.

Mr. Cullen was just leaving his office as we reached the second floor. "Bella! How are you liking your first day?"

I smiled back at him. "It's actually going pretty well. I haven't fallen yet."

He chuckled softly, and gestured for me to go ahead and clock out. I moved into the doorway and punched in my numbers, and placed my index finger on the pad as he spoke. "Your father warned me of your tendency to be a bit clumsy."

Oh he was trying to be polite. He was definitely being polite, because if I knew my father he had very clearly laid it out for Mr. Cullen. He would have said something like 'She'll trip over her own feet and spill drinks all over a VIP. Are you sure you want to hire her?' Because that was Charlie. I laughed softly, nodding as I took a bite of my burger, chewing fast, then swallowing to allow myself to speak. "That sounds like Charlie."

"Hey, Dad..." A voice I hadn't heard before said from the hallway. The voice was smooth, so smooth I thought my heart stopped again. I knew in that fraction of a second that it took for that annoying organ in my chest to start up again that it belonged to Edward. I froze as I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up as he stepped into view. Seeing him from so far away from the safety of my truck yesterday had been nothing compared to the up close and personal look I was getting now. His skin was perfect, absolutely flawless. Most men in their early twenties had _some_ flaws, something from their hard puberty years. But Edward? Nothing, not a single thing marred his face. I could see his lips moving, talking to Mr. Cullen, could hear the hum of his voice, but the words made no sense to me as I just stared in awe at him.

Once a fully realized I was openly gaping... again... I tore my gaze from him and turned, shoving a large bite of my food into my mouth to allow myself a pass from having to speak. I knew it wouldn't be coherent if I even attempted it. I heard Mr. Cullen calling my name, and I made a point to chew as I turned to keep myself from being expected to talk.

"Bella, this is my son, Edward. Alice told us you hadn't properly met yet."

I shook my head, but smiled with my lips closed politely. I threw my hand up in a quick wave, then resumed chewing. I started to turn back to check the time clock, but that velvety voice stopped me as it addressed me directly.

"My Dad tells me you're attending Seattle University in the fall?"

I stopped, and squeezed my eyes together, hoping this would just go away, I would stumble, I would make a fool of myself, did he really think with how freaking dazzling he was that girls would be able to think clearly around him? The food in my mouth was chewed plenty, and it was stupid to think I could fool him into thinking I needed to keep chewing it. I nodded, and swallowed as I faced him again.

"What program are you going into?"

I sighed softly, resigning to short sentences. "Social Work."

"Helping people." It wasn't a question, and in fact he seemed a little amused by that.

I narrowed my eyes at him, irritated. "Yes. So?"

He shrugged slightly. "It's admirable. That's all." I noticed his eyes make a quick swoop over my body, and I felt slightly uneasy from the way he was looking at me. It was like he was trying to see straight through me, to assess every bit of my body, every ounce of my soul, every nook and cranny in my mind. His intense green eyes finally settled on my own brown ones, and the hair on my arms and the back of my neck stood straight on end. I felt like there was a magnet attached to the both of us, pulling me toward him. I could feel this itch in my feet making me want to move, but I kept them planted firmly on the floor. What in the hell was the matter with me?

His gaze moved from mine finally, and he turned his attention back to his father. "So are you letting her work at the concession stand?"

Mr. Cullen smiled at me. "If she truly wanted to. You know how your sister is."

Edward laughed, and my stomach knotted up, his lips stayed in a crooked smile as he turned back to look at me. "You were going to come and watch the game tomorrow right?"

I nodded dumbly. I really didn't want to work at the game, given that sports and myself just do not mix at all. Despite that, I felt myself agreeing simply to keep that crooked smile on his lips. And blissfully it stayed.

"Great. You can see us beat the shit out of the Quileutes."

Mr. Cullen sighed and lowered his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Edward, language."

"Wha..." He groaned, and took a deep breath. "Whatever. I'm going back out to practice."  
It was then that I noticed the practice uniform he wore. As he turned, and ran a hand through the copper locks, I could see his corded muscles straining with tension under his skin. It intrigued me, further proving my stupidity to not let it go already.

I finished out the rest of the day without any true mishaps. I almost spilled an iced mocha something or other on this prissy woman with the last name 'Stanley'. She looked a lot like the dark haired girl that was with the loser of the tennis match the day before. Had to of been the mother. That happened right after I returned from lunch. My mind was still scrambled from Edward's presence. Just knowing that he was out on the baseball diamond made it even worse. Just thinking that he could walk into the dining room and scramble me further made it ten times worse.

I regained my former skill two hours before I was scheduled to leave. By that time I was dragging, and just begging the clock to hurry up and strike 5 already. It was a long shift, but I'd had a total hour and a half break through the day, so it should have made it better, if I hadn't stood through half of my hour lunch.

When I clocked out, I practically collapsed into the cab of the truck, and laid down on the seat before I left. I had parked close to the baseball diamond without even thinking, and I could hear the cracks of the bats. I laid there for a while just listening to the practice, smiling every once in a while when I heard a female voice scream out; "Edward quit showing off you asshole!"

Finally after a half hour of trying to rest before driving back to Seattle I sat up, jumping slightly when I saw the pixie girl leaning on the hood of my truck, staring right into the cab. I yelped slightly, which earned me a small smile from her lips. She skipped to the driver's side of the truck, an apologetic smile on her lips. "Sorry, Bella." She said resting her arms on the open window.

"Alice, no... it's ok. Uh... what're you doing?"

She grinned at me, "Just making sure you know you can wear jean shorts tomorrow so you won't die of heat exhaustion out here."

I laughed softly. Was fashion and wardrobe all she thought about? "Oh. Okay. Thanks."

"The game starts at one, be here about an hour before? Dad said he meant to tell you on your lunch that the regular posting of the schedule is on Sundays. He would like you to work closing Sunday night if that's ok with you?"

I shrugged, trying to process her quickly spoken words. "Yeah, that's fine."

"Great! I'll let him know." She tapped her small hands on the side of the truck before pushing away. "I'll see you tomorrow Bella."

I smiled and waved back at her before starting the truck, the roar of the engine soothing to me. It meant I got to go home. The drive was long and tedious, and I was pushing the speed limits of my truck as I tried to get home faster. Once there, I wearily climbed the three flights of stairs to the one bedroom apartment I'd been able to get close to campus, and then collapsed onto the couch, not wanting to move to go to the hallway of a kitchen I had to make myself something for dinner. I thought briefly about ordering a pizza, and once the thought was in my mind, it became all the more appealing. I reached into my pocket, and pulled out the roll of bills I'd been left in tips that Siobhan and Makenna shared with me. I leaned forward, counting the bills out onto the coffee table, making sure I'd had enough for a pizza, not thinking that I would have come out of there with any more then forty dollars. When I hit 40 and passed it and kept going, my eyes widened as I sat back with the total in my head. Two hundred fifty dollars. I grabbed a twenty, and put the rest in an inconspicuous chick flick DVD case. I called the closest pizza place, put my order in along with an order of cheesy bread, then hit the answering machine noticing I'd had two messages.

"Bella, it's dad. Thanks for letting me know about the game tomorrow. I'll be there."

I smiled, of course he would be. Though I was sure Billy or Harry would have told him even if I hadn't.

The machine beeped again. "Bella, it's mom. I just wanted to know how your first day went. You know, you could have stayed down here in Phoenix. I don't understand why you'd want to go up to Washington. You love the sun, Bella, come home." It beeped before the last word got out, meaning she'd over spoken the allotment of time the machine gave her. I'd programmed it that way. Other wise she would have taken up all the time on the machine just speaking to no one. 45 seconds is all anyone got for a message on my machine. If you couldn't say what you needed in that amount of time, just tell me you want to talk, and I'll call you back. I couldn't fathom why anyone would need more then that to leave a message. Except for my mother.

I returned her phone call, explaining the Social Work program was better then the one in Phoenix up here, and I loved my new job, and the apartment, while small was a perfect fit for me. Why did I need more then a kitchen, cozy bedroom, basic bathroom and intimate living room to get by? Apparently Renee thought that I needed more room then my 'cramped' apartment. I love it I insisted, and promised I'd call her tomorrow when I got home from the game.

After I ate, and shoved the left overs into the fridge, knowing it'd probably feed me for the rest of the week, I made it back to the couch to start surfing through the 9PM time slot of cable that I had. I only remembered changing three channels before I passed out in my work clothes.

My dreams that night were strange. I saw Edward's face leaning over me terror written on his perfect features. He kept demanding I tell him I was ok, begging God to let me be ok. I was oddly detached from the dream, unable to tell him I was fine. My mouth wouldn't work properly. Wild animals surrounded us, hunters stalking their prey, and Edward called to me again, more urgently.

"Bella! Bella, please answer me!" He was shaking me, the fear growing in his gaze.

Then black. There was nothing else to be seen, no sensations to tell me what was going on. And then the dream started all over again. It continued like that all night long. I never once woke, but I could remember when my eyes slowly opened the next morning, that I had heard him pleading with me many times through the night. I wasn't sure what the dream meant, but I knew one thing.

I was late for work.

I rushed into my room, tearing my clothes off from the previous day, leaving a trail of them in my wake, and moved into the shower, not bothering to wash my hair, merely jumping under the spray to wake myself up, and wash the grime and sweat off of my body from yesterday.

I moved into the bedroom and pulled on my Cullen Club T-shirt, the white one with black crest. Then I glanced into my closet looking between the short denim shorts, and the mid thigh length khaki shorts. I wasn't sure which I could wear, I remembered Alice telling me I could wear shorts, but my exhaustion made me forget if she'd specified. I agonized over it for a full thirty seconds, I didn't have any time to waste, before I grabbed the longer shorts from the shelf, and jerked them on before slipping ankle socks on and my white tennis shoes, then brushing my hair back into a pony tail. I threw one last look into the closet before running out of the apartment, and groaned grabbing the denim shorts. I was sure if I could wear the shorter ones, I'd find some where to change. Today was supposed to be hot, and I really didn't want to wear any more fabric then I needed to.

I made it to the club only ten minutes late. I called from the road to explain I was running late, but no one answered the phone inside. As I exited the truck, I jogged, very, very carefully, to the baseball field. I rounded the concession building, and almost collided with the pixie like form standing in the open doorway. "Oh! Alice."

She giggled. "Thank goodness." She grinned back at the field where I could see the entire Cullen family, including a woman with caramel colored hair, I guessed to be Alice's mother, and a bunch of others on the field. I could clearly make out the opposing team. The Quileutes, with their russet skin, and jet black hair in their brown and gold uniforms with a wolf on the left breast of their button down Jerseys. All of the Cullen players wore a black and white uniform, the Cullen crest, same as the one on my shirt, on theirs rested on the left breast as well. Some players had caps on, others didn't. "Bella." My eyes jerked back to Alice. "I told dad that you had woman problems you were dealing with. I covered for you."

I laughed shortly. "Guess when it does happen I'd better make sure it's handled huh?"

She giggled. "I just hope you don't get really sick."

I shook my head. "Thanks, Alice, I really appreciate it."

"No problem." She chirped, and pulled a cap over her short hair before turning, sprinting back onto the field where she skipped over to Jasper kissing him before taking the ball from Mr. Cullen.

I turned into the building where a fun sounding rock song was blaring over speakers, two other girls, who were dressed very similar to myself, except in their own short blue jean shorts, were singing the song, and dancing behind the counter as they filled orders. I held a finger up to them, and moved to the back of the building making quick work of changing into the denim shorts before moving back out to the main area.

I moved to the counter, making a third line of people almost immediately, taking orders, and filling them as quick as I could while the girls giggled, and danced around behind me. Once the lines started diminishing, I heard the crowd cheer as the Quileutes took the field, while the Cullens went up to bat first.

Emmett was up first, the big bear of a man made the bat he was holding look almost like a freakin' toothpick. One ball, and two strike later he slammed contact with the ball to the far right field, taking a double before he was forced to stop. I leaned against the counter and watched the game as Alice, Jasper, and Mrs. Cullen went up to bat, totaling two runs. My eyes wandered the crowd and I spotted my dad right away, sitting dead center behind home plate.

It was weird seeing Charlie like that. Completely relaxed in a dark blue T shirt, and blue jeans. Even when he went fishing in the middle of summer he wore flannel. There was no flannel on him at all as he sat there cheering on both teams. Poor guy. He couldn't cheer for one or the other, he was close with both. He was here for the love of the game.

Personally, I was rooting for the Cullens. I might have been a little biased considering I worked for them, but the only thing I could remember of the Quileutes were mud pies with Jacob Black when I was five. Occasionally his older twin sisters Rachel and Rebecca would allow me to play with their dolls, but it was mostly just Jacob and I. And I hadn't seen him in ages.

The announcer caught my attention then when he announced that Edward was up to bat. The crowd cheered loudly, and I noticed both the girls I was working with ran to the counter to watch him bat. It only took one pitch, and Edward swung hard. The bat connected with the ball, sending it soaring over the field, and he ran. Jesus, he was fast! My eyes could barely keep up with him as he rounded the bases, sending Jasper racing over home, then Mrs. Cullen, he was rounding third as the ball was thrown from the far out field to right short stop, who pitched it to the third baseman, trying to get Edward out, but he was already halfway down the line to home. The baseman threw it to the catcher, and Edward hit the dirt, sliding the remaining ten feet touching the base seconds before the catcher brought the ball down to tap him.

"Safe!" The umpire called, and my jaw dropped. I couldn't believe he'd hit a home run, and gained three more runs. The game hadn't been going more then fifteen minutes.

Next up was the strawberry blonde who'd lost against Rosalie in the tennis match. I caught her name briefly over the speakers, Tanya Denali. She was quick to strike out. Maybe she should just give up on sports. I almost felt sorry for her. Maybe she was like me, horrible at sports. The next up was Rosalie. She bunted a single, and I was confused by it. I thought for sure she'd slam the thing into next week with how pissed off she looked.

The next in the line up was a brunette named Jessica Stanley, then a girl with silvery blonde hair named Lauren Mallory, next a blonde boy named Mike Newton. That was a name I recognized from Forks. There was Newton's Outfitters on the outskirts of town. I briefly wondered if he was in any relation. The three new ones hit a double, struck out, and a triple respectively, gaining two more runs for the game. Mr. Cullen was up next, and was just like his son. A grand slam right over the left field wall. Brought Mike and himself home. The next was a small boy named Ben Cheney.

The dark haired girl I was working with stopped and watched intently. She winced on his first strike, whispering, "Come on Ben, you can do it." She groaned softly on his second strike. "Ben, hon, come on, you can get this." Her head dropped down to the counter on the third. "Damn."

I moved up to the counter next to her as the teams switched sides. Emmett and Edward in the outfield with Jasper. Mr. Cullen at short stop, Alice on the pitcher's mound, and Mrs Cullen as the catcher. "Ben's your boyfriend?" I asked her casually. I desperately needed someone else to talk to other then my bare walls, my dad and my mom. Making a new friend couldn't hurt.

She blushed slightly. "Yeah. He worked really hard for today, and he's letting his nerves take over."

I smiled gently back at her. "I can't blame him. I'd feel the same way. Why don't you play?"

She shook her head. "Not that athletic. Not the way they take the game. Very seriously." She nodded her head toward the field. "Rose gets extremely competitive."

I looked out at the field then, and saw Rosalie at first base. I kept my eyes on her as the first batter, a girl I didn't recognize, but was introduced as Leah Clearwater, swung. It was a line drive straight to Rosalie. She back pedaled a bit, and lept into the air, stopping the ball, but not catching it. I could clearly see her swear as she bent, picked up the ball and threw the ball so fast it was a streak as Leah reached second. Mike Newton caught it, but not in enough time to call an out for the Quileute. My eyes flashed back to Rosalie who was yelling at Mike. He then returned her sentiments, yelling back at her before I heard a sharp voice ring out from the Cullen dugout. The both of them turned back to their tasks, and the next batter was up. The Quileutes scored six runs amidst two strike outs from Leah's brother, and one named Collin. Then I heard a familiar name being called, Jacob Black. My attention was dragged from filling a drink as I spun taking in his appearance. His long jet black hair was pulled back into a pony tail at the nape of his neck, his copper skin making him look as if he just radiated heat. I couldn't see his face, but he'd beefed up since I'd last seen him when I was in high school and was visiting Charlie for the last two years of my schooling. His biceps moved beneath his skin as he gripped the bat, and I finished filling the customer's drink, and handed it over to him as I watched little Alice pitch. A fast ball streaked past him, taking him back. Even though I couldn't see his expression, I could tell by his body language that he was nervous then. Alice took the ball back from Mrs. Cullen, and pitched again. The ball curved way out, and he swung, missing it completely. He took a step back out of the box, putting the bat between his legs as he took the cap off, smoothed his hair back and readjusted. He shook himself slightly as I heard yelling coming from the dugout encouraging him. Another fastball was pitched, but Jacob was ready for it, slamming straight up into the air as he took off running. He rounded first easily as it started dropping, and my eyes moved to the outfield where Edward and Emmett were jogging backward, trying to make sure they were under the ball. I saw Edward's lips move, and Emmett stopped. He positioned himself as the ball continued it's descent, and Jacob headed for third. I was certain that he was going to make it when the ball dropped cleanly into Edward's mitt. The umpire shouted "OUT!" and Jacob stopped a step away from third base. I saw the cocky crooked smirk on Edward's lips as he started back in, holding the ball up to show he had it, and dropped it on the pitcher's mound as he passed.

The game progressed much as it had in the first inning through the remaining eight. Over the course of the game, I spoke to the dark haired girl, who I found out her name was Angela, and the other, a brunette named Kate. Both were waitresses on the night shift, who I would be joining once I started my regular shifts. I learnt that Irina and her husband Laurent were finally ready to start their family together, and that was why she left. Though, I admittedly knew that point already from Mr. Cullen during my interview/orientation. But Kate whispered that Irina was her sister, and she swore up and down that she had been pregnant already, but didn't want to risk Mr. Cullen; whom she called Carlisle I just couldn't bring myself to call him by his first name, finding out, and asking her to step down her hours anyway. It didn't make much sense to me, but nothing really about what other people did ever made much sense to me.

Two hours and fifty one minutes after the game started the bases were loaded, and Sam Uley was up to bat for the Quileutes. The Cullens were up by one run, one lousy run, and Alice was looking exhausted. I didn't think I'd ever see that girl that worn out. Angela, Kate and I had all cleaned up the concession stand, leaving out the left over popcorn, hot dogs, and candy on the counter, but there was no way we were making anything else. Alice pitched, and caused the first strike to be tallied against the tribe. Sam shook his head, and readied himself for the next pitch, it looked like a screwball with the way it sailed crazily toward Sam. He made contact, but it went foul. Rose retrieved the ball and underhandedly tossed it back to her. The next pitch streaked over the plate and into Mrs. Cullen's mitt right under Sam's bat. A second strike. I heard Kate take a deep breath in, and Angela kept rapping her finger tips on the counter as they leaned further on the counter watching the game. I couldn't help it, I was entranced. The fourth pitch, and Sam made solid contact, the ball popped up into the air, and traveled way back into the outfield. Right under the ball was Emmett, glove at the ready. The runners started, as Sam made his way to first, Alice spun, and caught Edward's eye pointing to Emmett, not wanting to startle him. I narrowed my eyes in confusion as Edward started running toward his brother. The ball landed in Emmett's glove heavily and rolled out of the palm as Emmett closed his fingers, then I understood why Edward had started running, he slid in catching the ball before it hit the ground, and then I couldn't see anything else as the crowd lept to their feet cheering and racing the field.

I turned and looked to Kate and Angela who were bouncing happily beside me. I didn't understand it, how had Alice known? The girls stopped bouncing and caught my gaze, both started giggling like they were crazy as they looked at me. I realized then that my jaw was hanging wide open.

I then started looking between them and the crowd in the field, my mouth working mutely for a moment before I was able to find my voice. "How the HELL did that happen?"

Kate giggled. "She does that. We all swear she's clairvoyant or something."

"It's strange how she does it, but no one questions it when she tells someone to do something." Angela said laughing still.

I broke into a fit of giggles myself. "I can't believe that just happened!"

Angela's laughter started dying off a bit, and she chuckled as she added on to her statement. "Also, Emmett seems to get too cocky at the very end of every game, especially one as close at this one. And almost every time, something like that happens. Alice only let it happen once, two games later they had a game, and it was tied. The batter smacked one out to Emmett, and Alice turned just like that and pointed to Jasper, who did the same thing. They ended up going into over time, and won by six runs."

I shook my head still in disbelief. "That's insane." I grabbed the candy off of the counter, and put it down below as the crowd started to disperse.

A thud on the counter alerted me to someone's presence, and I looked up to see none other then Jacob Black grinning at me. Perfect white teeth gleamed against his russet skin. "Bella!"

I giggled softly as I rose up from my crouched position on the floor. "Jake." I leaned over the counter slightly to give him an awkward hug. "How've you been?"

He shrugged his now broad shoulders, and I was slightly captivated by how much bigger he was since I last saw him my Junior year in high school. My dad had bought my truck for me off of Billy, and when he came to drop it off, Jacob was with him. He was a scrawny thing back then, barely taller then me, and lanky. Now he looked to be well over six feet tall, he'd filled out in the muscle department, and his face had long since lost any trace of it's boyish features, and had strengthened into a man's. "I've been good. How about you? Dad said you were starting at SU in the fall."

I nodded. "Yup. Where are you going to college?"

He shrugged again. "I dunno. I've taken a year off, and traveled, but I'm not sure what I want to do yet. Thinking about following your dad or something. You know..." That grin spread on his lips again, giving me a playful punch on the shoulder, more of a tap really. "be the son he didn't get to have?"

"Ha, ha, very funny, Jake." I rolled my eyes at him, and caught a flash of bronze hair just inside the fence of the baseball diamond. Edward stood there, glaring at Jacob, and I frowned in response. I tilted my chin toward him, and turned my attention back to Jacob. "What's with Edward?"

He grinned back down at me. "Friendly rivalry, Bella. Don't worry about it."

Still entirely confused, I shook my head. "Whatever, Jake." I turned as Kate and Angela waved to me as they left the building. "I should get back up to the clubhouse and clock out."

He frowned, "Wait, you really are working here?"

I rose an eyebrow, curious as to his incredulous expression. "Yeah, why?"

His frown grew. "Damn it." He shook his head, and glared back at Edward for a moment. Before turning back to me, a half smile on his lips. "I'll see you around, Bella."

I watched him as he moved back to the fence, and reached down into his bag before handing something over to Edward who then wore a smug grin. After a brief exchange, Jacob slung his bag over his shoulder, and moved over to his team mates before they all left as well. I fished putting things away and left the building myself, but I couldn't help looking back in Edward's direction who only seemed to be half listening to the lecture Mr. Cullen was giving the team. He gave me a half wave, and that crooked smile before I turned, my heart giving me fits inside my chest, threatening to burst out of it at any moment as I made my way back up to clock out and grab my schedule. Alice had informed me in the bottom of the third inning that she'd taken the liberty of manually clocking me in at 12:01.

I wasn't sure what was up with Edward staring at me, but I'd be lying if I said he'd finally moved from his spot as I made my way back to my truck.

That night... I dreamed of him more then once.

**Please review! All reviews will get previews of the next chapter, which will be told from Edward's POV. It will overlap a bit, but I like stories that do that :) You will find out what was going on with Edward and Jake at the end here. I'll be trying to get updates done once a week, but with three hellions driving me batty it may end up every two weeks. But I'm trying!**


	3. New Blood

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, and those that placed this story on story alert. I appreciate it a lot! I love hearing what you think of the story. So keep them coming in!**

**Summerleigh you are awesome. Papa Smurf has a whole new meaning to me now... LMAO**

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns the Twilight characters and their lives. I am merely twisting them and playing with them for my own entertainment... and for the entertainment of others. Plots and story lines belong to me. **

**This chapter has a citrusy flavor to it along with alcohol and drug use. Just for a heads up.**

Chapter 3

New Blood

Edward Cullen

Dad informed me that we were getting a new waitress. More like warned me actually. After the fiasco with Bree Tanner, I think he wanted to be able to ground me again. He'd lost that ability the day I turned 16 and inherited my Volvo. He knew I could sneak out of my room, which was a sanctuary for me anyway, and just up and leave. Dad was usually pretty lenient about Alice, Emmet, and myself, but when it came to his employees apparently that's where he draws the line.

She hadn't been an unwilling participant, and I certainly didn't scare her. Bree was actually the one that pursued _me_, but that's specifics and technicalities. I doubt anyone really cared.

She was a good waitress though. People seemed to like her a lot, and maybe that's why dad seemed so pissed off when she up and quit because I 'came on too strong'. More like fucked her damn brains out in the break room, and she hadn't been able to walk properly afterward probably thought I broke her or something. Not my fault that she'd only been with one other guy that was definitely less than average if she couldn't handle me.

Don't hate on me either, she screamed for it. She wanted every bit of it, and even had that blissful look on her face as she tried to go back to work afterward. Yeah, I fucked her in the middle of her shift. She was employed a grand total of nine days. In that time she'd managed to wear mini skirts on the three casual days, the last being the day I finally said 'fuck it' and gave in. Bent her over the supply boxes, and took what she offered. Am I really the bad guy? Maybe, I'm no fucking hero, that's for damn sure.

Just to appease my dad, I stayed up at the house until 4:30 when he'd informed me that Alice had taken her on a tour of the grounds. I then grabbed my stuff and headed up for the club house going around the front nine and getting onto the baseball diamond to begin practicing. I had a long day ahead of me, the entire team was getting together at six for the last practice before the game on Saturday. I wasn't looking forward to it either. Tanya, Jessica, and Ben were our worst players, I think dad kept them on the team to make sure we didn't dominate the game.

I'd been on the diamond for a good forty five minutes when I heard Alice's golf cart, and not even a half second later, Jasper's cart coming up from the hole 18 on the course. I'd gathered my bag, and started up the slight hill to meet them. I chuckled slightly as I heard Jasper struggling to breathe. "Alright you pixie, don't kill my best friend before the game."

She giggled softly before allowing herself to let go of Jasper, and he set her back down on her feet. "Oh right, because the game is more important than his life."

I tilted my chin toward the shitty truck the new girl had gotten into. "That the new girl?"

Immediately a chastising glare came into her eyes. "Yes, that's Bella Swan." I nodded only half caring until we started back. Alice gave her an enthusiastic wave, and I couldn't help turning to look at her.

Alright, I'd admit it, she was hot... in one of those girlish cute ways. She almost looked like a deer caught in headlights with her wide brown eyes. The jaw of her heart shaped face was just about in her lap as she stared back at me, and I barely heard Alice's warning.

"Edward, please don't frighten this one away. I really like her."

I laughed, I couldn't help it, she was still stuck on the Bree thing. "Ahh, Alice, you really need to get over that. I won't give her anything but what she wants."

"You're lucky dad was able to stop charges from being pressed on you. You know he doesn't take things like that lightly."

"I did not harass her and I didn't rape her like she claimed. She wanted it and offered it up, I took it." I shook my head as I opened the door for my annoying pixie of a sister. "It's amazing, for someone so tiny, you really are extremely annoying."

She shrugged her shoulders and practically skipped to the dining room to take a bottle of water from Alistair. I leaned against the wall by the corner that turned into the gift shop in front of the dining room archway waiting for her. That's when I heard tennis shoes stomping up the stairs then storming down the hallway. I barely glanced at Rosalie as she came at me, fury burning in her gaze. I shook my head and sighed. "What the fuck did I do now, Rose?"

"Don't! Don't even think about it. You leave her alone!" She yelled at me. She stopped right in front of me, toe to toe, leaning forward to get in my face, pointing her perfectly manicured nail right at my nose. I wanted to snap the fucker off.

I frowned down at her, utterly confused. "Who?"

"The new girl. I know you Edward Cullen! That girl looks innocent enough to still be a God damn virgin, don't you even think about it."

I smirked, just to piss her off. "Hmm, maybe that'll make the chase even better."

Her lips tightened, almost disappearing her anger started to boil over as my brother caught up to her, grabbing hold of her hand to get it out of my face. "Rosie, whoa now. You know if you put your finger in Edward's face you're likely to come back with a stump."

"Will the lot of you take it to the diamond?" My father's voice came down the hallway, irritated. "I have people trying to consume their dinners, and you will ruin their appetites, and potentially their games if you continue."

"Carlisle!" Rosalie protested, pointing at me. "Don't you want to even try to protect..."

"Bella can take care of herself. Besides, her father is Chief Swan of the Forks Police Department. I won't have to do anything to him if he screws with the girl, and she don't want it. Charlie knows plenty of places to..." He glanced at me, a mix between a warning and amusement in his gaze. "hide a body." He clasped his hands behind his back, and looked over all of us. "Now the five of you go practice, the rest of the team should be out there shortly for practice. Edward, I want you to work with Ben and Jessica the most today."

I rolled my eyes. Despite the fact that Ben was terrible, Dad didn't want to give up on him. He did have potential, but it seemed like he was too afraid to be good at the game. Jessica on the other hand was just fucking hopeless. She couldn't catch, couldn't hit, and could barely run in a straight fucking line. I hated that both she and Tanya were on the team, but at least Jess didn't try to trap me in the damn dugout after practices and have her way with me. Not that I hadn't given in a few times I will admit that much. But Tanya was one of those girls you fuck, and then throw away.

I nodded to my father to acknowledge his statement, and turned, leading my family and Rose out to the diamond. Hell no, I didn't include that bitch in my family. She made Emmett happy, but she had it out for my balls or some shit. I don't know what I ever did to her, but she hated me from the moment she set eyes on me. I had to give her this much though, she was already protective over the girl that was enough to earn her a few points in my book. Not much, but a few.

She was also incredibly competitive, and that helped us win a great majority of the games. We weren't out on the diamond long before Tanya drove up in her golf cart with Jessica and Lauren in tow. Mike, Ben, and Eric weren't far behind. I groaned as I took in Tanya's clothing, or rather lack there of. Fucking short shorts, and a sports bra. Really a fucking slut. She fit the mold perfectly. I let Alice and Rose take care of the slut before approaching Jessica and Ben, giving them the low down on how practice was going to go. Working with catching with Jess for a half hour, and allow Ben time with Alice to hit, then switch it up. I was the replacement pitcher for our team, but Alice was the best. She'd even worked off season in the basement gym to speed up her fast ball. I knew it'd take the Quileutes off in the game Saturday. I couldn't wait.

Practice went fairly smoothly. Ben was actually starting to improve, and I hoped like hell that tomorrow night's practice he'd be even better, and that it wouldn't take him until we had 20 minutes left in practice to hit the damn ball. Jessica caught three throws, and even those were fucking flukes. Tanya didn't get off her ass until my father came onto the diamond, and told her if she didn't get off of it, he'd throw her off the team so fast her head would spin. I had a feeling that mommy dearest had thrown her onto the team to stay in Dad's good graces. Their family had a horrible reputation what with Tanya's home being raided and then having her father carted off for possession of illegal substances. Dad wanted them off the property, but they paid their dues, and mortgage payments on time, and really he didn't have any reason to kick them out.

Around eight when we were winding down from the practice, mom brought out five home made pizzas. Have I ever mentioned how much I love my mother's cooking? Yeah, go ahead and call me a fucking momma's boy, but until you've had Esme Cullen's fucking home made pizza you haven't had pizza. I settled back on the dugout bench, my paper plate filled with at least six slices, and began to dig in. Unfortunately, my appetite took a down hill turn when the slut plopped herself down on the bench beside me. "Hey Eddie."

"Don't fucking call me Eddie." I didn't look at her knowing if I did, I wouldn't be able to eat. There was no way I was letting this bitch ruin my mother's cooking.

"Touchy aren't we?" I felt a nail run up the side of my neck, and I grabbed her hand without looking at her.

"Touching is something you don't want to do either." I took another bite, trying desperately to ignore the way my skin crawled in reaction to Tanya's presence beside me. Fucking crack whore.

She huffed, and I felt her slam her back against the bench. "Fine. I thought you'd like a pre-game fluff on Saturday though, figured we could set up time and place."

I almost puked right then and there. "Tanya I never want your disease ridden mouth anywhere near me ever again, and if I ever gave you any indication of otherwise, you are sorely mistaken." Oh pun fucking intended. I spared her one look, a glare really, and moved to the parking lot where my mother's limo cart waited to take the family back to the house. I sulked in the front passenger seat, and finished my dinner, wishing like hell I had liquor to wash the bile down that was still stuck in the back of my throat from the offer the whore presented to me.

My mother kept throwing me cautious looks the whole way home over her shoulder as I moved to the bag area on the back once my father, brother, and sister joined us. It was irritating, and yet comforting at the same time. My mother was one of those that worried endlessly, needlessly, fucking irritatingly. If she didn't she wouldn't be my mother so I learnt to deal with it. Once home I grabbed a bottle of Jack and retreated to my room. It didn't help sleep come any faster as my mind kept going to the deer in headlights look I had gotten from Bella Swan that afternoon.

I couldn't help but wonder why the hell everyone seemed so fucking intent on protecting her from me. I wasn't planning on doing anything to her. Unless of course she wanted me to, and then it was her choice, one I wouldn't say no to. I caved in after one in the morning and grabbed my Ipod, cramming the buds into my ears blaring hard rock into them to keep the thoughts of anything but the beat in my head. Thank God it worked.

Until I had just started drifting off that is. My phone vibrated on my stomach, scaring the fucking shit out of me and I angrily grabbed it, glaring at the screen reading the next text message that had come through.

_Ed, u r going back to SU this fall right? I need a rmmt, ur the only 1 I trust. Get back to me. -T_

Fucking Tyler Crowley, I was going to fucking kill him.

_Don't fucking call me 'Ed'. 2. Don't use that fucking text type shit. You know I hate it. 3. Sure why the fuck not?_

I hit the send button, and laid my head back down knowing there'd be a confirmation text back. And sure enough not two minutes later my phone buzzed again.

_Great! Thanks man. Do you know when the next outing is?_

He was, of course, referring to the golf outing that Mike, Eric, he, and I had signed up to league on. Tournaments started in two weeks, but he was acting like a fucking douche texting me at fucking 2 AM to get that information from me.

_Ask me when it's not 2 in the fucking morning, Crowley. _

I put the phone on my night stand, determined to get some sleep, and turned the volume up to the point where I could almost feel my brain rattling in my skull from the up tempo beats. I drifted off to sleep soon after, though my subconscious decided to fuck with me and gave me some very interesting dreams about the doe eyed girl doing some very illicit things with and to me. Not that I'm saying I didn't like it. Far from it.

I woke up near noon the next morning, the music still blaring in my ears to Emmett's massive fucking hands shaking me awake. "What?" I growled out at him, glaring at him through half closed eyes as I ripped the buds out of my ears.

"Dad's been looking for you." He picked my phone off my hardwood floor and handed it to me.

I sighed, and opened my arms wordlessly asking where the hell else would I be? He shrugged reading my wordless statement and left me alone. I looked at the screen, and noticed I had ten missed calls, and four new texts.

First text from Tyler at 2:23 AM. _Fuck you. _

Nice, dick head.

Second text from Ben at 8:17 AM. _Edward, you think you can meet me in a couple hours on the diamond? I want to get in extra practice time today. _

Three missed calls from Tanya, back to back between 8:51 and 9:00.

A text from Alice at 9:30 AM. _Hey, Ben said you didn't get back to him. You're not still asleep are you?_

A call from Alice five minutes later, two more calls from Tanya ten minutes after that. A call from Ben at 10:22 AM.

Then a call from my father at 11:25 AM, there was a voice mail from him.

"_Edward, Ben is waiting for you, get your ass to the Diamond, now." _

And then five minutes ago at 11:50, a text from him. God I hated he knew how to fucking text. _Edward Anthony Cullen, my office ten minutes. Don't be late._

I had five minutes.

Fuck.

The last thing I needed was a pissed off father on my ass all day long. I realized I had the practice uniform on still from last night, and groaned. I grabbed my shoes and ran out of the house in two minutes. I hated leaving the house without showering, and dressing properly, but seriously, a pissed off Carlisle Cullen is _not_ a pretty sight. I made it to the club house only five minutes late, racing past the dining room where I noticed Bella setting two glasses down on the Denali's table. Tanya, thankfully, was missing from the equation.

My father was not happy with me, that much I could tell from the way he gripped the bridge of his nose between his thumb and fore finger for fifteen minutes after I slid into the chair across the desk from him. I waited for him to speak first, I knew if I spoke before he did that would only make the boiling water explode. I needed to stay away from that at all costs.

Finally he lowered his hand from his face, and stared at me, intense icy blue eyes bore into me. Even as his son, it unnerved me. It was amplified as he spoke, his voice calm, even, and as quiet as a God damn whisper. I hated it when he spoke like that. "Edward, what are you planning to take in the fall?"

Well that just confused the fuck out of me. "What?" He just looked at me like I was stupid. I'm not denying it either. "I... Fuck if I know. Why?"

"You haven't settled on a major."

"And?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose again. Fuck me. Something like a growl escaped him and I couldn't help pressing my back into the chair a bit more. "Edward, you are a fifth year college student, you have completed four minors. Yet you have no major to speak of. What is wrong with this picture?"

I sighed. I didn't know where this was coming from, or even why, but I was sure that it had something to do with my missing Ben at the diamond. "Yeah I know, ok? I just don't know what I want."

He threw brochures down on his desk, two for medical programs one at University of Washington and one at Pima, one for the law program at SU, and one for the music program at UW. Great. "There's plenty. One is even in the school you're attending. And don't pretend you haven't thought about the law program. This one I got from the trash at home."

"You went through the trash?" I rose an eyebrow. The man was getting desperate to figure out what I wanted to do with my life when I didn't even know. I'd picked up that brochure on a whim, not meaning anything concrete by it, and of course I hadn't shoved it into the trash far enough when I'd tossed it a full year after I'd gotten it.

"Edward!" He slammed his hand down on the desk, beyond irritated. "You need to pick a major. You need to start showing some responsibility, taking initiative, be in control of your own actions. Don't be relying on your mother and I to foot the bill anymore."

"I don't rely on you two! I work on campus, I have my own money. I'm still trying to figure myself out, Dad. I wasn't aware that there was a time limit on it."

"Your time has almost run out. By the end of fall semester, you will have a stable job, one you will work all year round, and your own place near campus. You will have a major to dedicate to. You will pay all of your own bills, and be a man for Christ's sakes."

I narrowed my eyes at him, irritated that he would insinuate that I wasn't a man. I was 23 years old, I had a job on campus, I was going to classes, I just hadn't found what I wanted to do yet. It's not like I wasn't trying! "I am a man, Dad."

He sighed, and shook his head. "Then you need to act like it, son. Standing a team mate up like you did, sleeping until noon? That's juvenile."

We both heard the footsteps coming up the stairs, and Siobhan's voice as she spoke to Bella, who responded with a delicate giggle. It wasn't annoying, or high pitched like Tanya or Jessica. It was melodic, fitting for her. I barely heard my father dismiss me before he moved out of the chair and out of the office to speak to Bella.

I couldn't believe the sudden thought that raced through my mind, hearing her respond to him. Bella seemed to be pretty damn responsible, right? From what Alice had told me, she was going to SU in the fall as well, she had her own place near campus, and she was currently holding down a damn stable job here. Maybe if I got to know her better, I could possibly learn a thing or two about why she was going to school, maybe get an idea of how she chose her major, and at least get _that_ out of the way. Maybe Dad was right.

Maybe.

I moved out of the office, and started down the hallway. "Hey, Dad. You know, maybe you're right. I am irresponsible, and sleeping until noon and standing up Ben, even though I didn't mean to, was wrong. I'll give him a call and have him meet me out here as soon as he can get here. I'll..." I hated what I was going to say next. "I'll even spend time with Tanya today to try to save that train wreck."

His eyes widened, surprised. "Really?"

I nodded, hating myself a little for that last bit. "Really." I turned, and saw Bella close her jaw, turn, and take a large bite out of her burger. "So this is Bella?" I asked, keeping my expression as neutral as I possibly could so I wouldn't allow my father to think that I was trying to hit on her or anything. Just like Alice, he still hadn't gotten over the Bree fiasco.

"Yes." His statement had a bit of a question in it, asking why the hell I wanted to know. Then a light came on over his head, and he smiled, getting Bella's attention, introducing us.

Now that we'd been properly introduced, I felt it was ok for me to ask about school. She blushed slightly, and looked like she wished I'd just go away instead of putting her on the spot to speak. She simply nodded, then tried to ignore me again. Too bad I wasn't deterred that easily. I inquired about her major, and couldn't help the smile that spread on my lips as she answered.

"Helping people." I said, impressed. She wanted to help people, and my father wanted me to prosecute them or cut them open. She seemed irritated with my slight amusement by it.

"So? What's wrong with it?"

I had to shrug, show nonchalance, forget the fact that I was completely intrigued by why she wanted to go into social work. My eyes raked over the part of her that I hadn't been able to see from her position in the truck the day before. She had enough curve to her body to be incredibly sexy, and while her face made me think of a girlish cuteness, her body was that of a woman. She wore the white button down shirt with the black tie thingy – Alice would kill me for forgetting the name of the damn thing – and black dress pants that hugged her hips, while giving out a bit of a flare over her long legs. Those legs would haunt my dreams tonight. She had the buttons all completely done up, prim and proper. I wanted to rip the buttons off to see what she had on underneath it. Did she have one of those belly rings? My gaze lingered at her navel for a moment then decided she seemed above piercing her navel, and thought if she had a piercing at all it'd probably be her ears. She seemed to be the type that if she had any out of the ordinary piercings it would be the upper cartilage of her ear. I wondered if there would be anything marring her porcelain skin.

I let my gaze move up to her chocolate brown eyes, and held it. The hair on the back of my arms, the hair on my neck stood up on end. I felt like an electric current had moved right through me. Once it reached my fingers, I felt them twitch slightly in her direction. The insane urge to move to her, to pull her into my arms just so I didn't have to be so far away from her anymore ripped through me. It was so unnerving it's what finally made me rip my gaze from hers, and bring up the game tomorrow to my father.

My Dad's comment about Alice made me smile. Of course I knew exactly what she was like. She had this insane power to convince you that something she'd come up with was your idea, and by the time you were agreeing to do it, you had believed that you really did come up with it, and you were asking her if she thought it was a good idea.

I asked Bella if she wanted to work at the game, and she just nodded dumbly, as if she weren't sure exactly what she was agreeing to. I grinned back at her. "Great. You can see us beat the shit out of the Quileutes."

Dad pinched the bridge of his nose again. What the hell had I said to piss him off again? "Edward. Language." I heard the distinction between the two words.

"Wha..." What the fuck had I said? Then I realized I had in fact cursed, right after saying I was going to man up. Fucking perfect. "Whatever. I'm going back out to practice." I ripped my hand through my hair, really fucking wanting to hit something right then, and settled on smacking a few balls into the outfield.

I called Ben on my way out to the field, and then sent a text to Alice asking her to meet me out at the field as well. Ben made it back up with Angela in tow, Alice not far behind, only twenty minutes later. We worked all afternoon, only stopping to snack on food bought from the gift shop, Ben insisted on buying since I'd helped him out. He was doing a lot better, I had to give him that much.

Practice that night didn't really go any better, and I really, really hated myself for telling my dad that I'd help out Tanya. I wanted to kick her off the team myself, but unfortunately Dad wouldn't allow it for some reason. She once again wore the skimpiest outfit, and I made sure to tell the slut if she even thought about dressing out of uniform at tomorrow's game she would be off the team, and there went her family's chance to impress my father. Though why they thought embarrassing their daughter would help impress my family was beyond me. I also wondered on many occasions if they had told her to do whatever I wanted her to do. Fucking assholes. All of the Denalis.

The rest of the night was a blur of batting and catching practice, working with Jessica, Ben, and the raging whore was trying my patience, and ability to stay conscious. That night, I didn't have any problems sleeping at all. I was out before my head hit the pillow.

I don't even remember setting the alarm clock, but I must have at one point, because it went off with an annoying blare at ten on the dot the next morning. Thank God I was able to shower before I left to get even more sweaty. I dressed in the game jersey, and headed downstairs, grabbing the peanut butter sandwiches Alice had made for me and left on the counter. It was tradition for Emmett, Alice, and I to have breakfast together before a game. It wasn't something I was going to risk breaking.

My family and I made it to the field two hours before the game was supposed to start, and we were able to practice for a half hour before the Quileutes got there. We allowed them a half hour to get the feel of the field before the rest of the team showed up. Thank God Denali had actually followed dress code, and was wearing the correct uniform for today. Her strawberry blonde hair was pulled into a pony tail which was threaded through the back of her baseball cap. Her eyes looked hooded, like she had a fucking hangover or was suffering from a craving.

I kept my gaze on her as Dad went over the roster, and who would be where in the field today. I barely picked up that I would be taking center field and batting fifth. Rose astutely figured out that my gaze hadn't moved from Tanya, and she picked up on the irritation radiating from me. My Dad's irritated voice broke through my trance, alerting me to the fact that Alice had disappeared. I frowned as I listened to her excuse of going up to grab her cap, and clocked Bella in because she was dealing with 'woman' problems.

"Sorry, Daddy, you'll want to call heads if you want to bat first." She responded to the bridge of the nose pinch. The 'daddy' trick always worked to bring him out of his irritation and at least give her a half hearted smile. If I was a momma's boy, Alice was daddy's girl.

He waved the both of us off with mom to go out to the coin toss, which I called heads. Of course Alice was right, and I decided to bat first. I know how most leagues do it, but this was home for both of the teams. The reservation didn't have a field like ours, and used the diamond for their own games. I quickly took my spot in the dugout in our batting order, and I hated that Dad had put Tanya right after me. Thankfully she didn't seem too fucking talkative. Maybe she took the fifteen ignored phone calls over the course of the day yesterday as to my final rejection. Either way, Rose was becoming more and more pissed off each second she stayed next to Tanya.

By the time it was my turn to bat, my outrage at Tanya's behavior had boiled up to the point where I really wanted to knock the shit out of something. All it took was the exhilaration of smacking the ball into the far outfield, and racing around the bases to get the majority of my anger out. Though it didn't take much to come back once Tanya took up the bat, and struck out, and the bitch wasn't even trying. Rose surprised us all when she bunted instead of smacking it out of the park. I was convinced she would.

The next to up seemed to have switched bodies on us. Jessica gave us a double, bringing Rose around to third before she was forced to stop, and Lauren struck out. Mike slammed it, bringing Rose and Jess home as he was stopped at third as well. As always, we could count on my father to hit a home run.

Then Ben, I cheered him on, encouraging him from my place in the dugout while he took up the bat, telling him to shake it off on the first strike, to concentrate on the damn ball on the second, then just resigned it to nerves as he struck out. He looked guilty as hell as he turned, heading back for the dugout.

"I'm sorry man." He said as I passed him on my way out to center field.

"Don't worry about it, Ben. Next time, alright? Just us out here, don't let the wolves terrify you." I grinned at him, and jogged out to my position. Ben was a good friend, trust worthy and loyal to a fault. He was a good guy, I really didn't want him getting down on himself.

Leah Clearwater was a great hitter. Impressed the hell out of me as she made even Rose drop the ball, it didn't happen often. She was quick too, beat Rose's throw to Mike by mere seconds. And of course, she took her anger out on him, screaming at him to tag her instead of fucking around. Mike returned berating her for not keeping a hold on the damn ball in the first place to get her out instead of having to make him tag her. Dad, Ben, and I all screamed at them to get their damn heads back in the game before the next batter got up. The next eight batters went fairly well, though the team had definitely gotten better as they scored six more runs, and only had two strike outs.

Then Jacob Black was up to bat. Oh this one was mine. Jacob and I always had an internal competition no matter what we did in our teams, football, baseball, golf leagues, we always had to outdo one another. Well honestly, it was more him trying to outdo me than anything else. I loved that Alice's first two pitches had shaken him the way they had. Alice had definitely gotten better, and faster over the winter. Unfortunately he made contact on the third pitch, and sent the fucker sailing right out to me. I jogged backward, and noticed Emmett moving right along with me. "It's mine!" I yelled out at him a fraction of a second before the ball dropped into my mitt. I gave Jacob my best shit eating grin as he stopped right before third base, and stared at me, shocked. I pulled the ball from my glove and waved it to him as I started back up for the dugout. "Better luck next time, mutt." I called out to him as I dropped the ball on the pitcher's mound when I passed it.

The game was a close one. The Quileutes seemed to get better and better as the game went on, and their pitcher, Brady actually struck me out once. No one was more shocked then I was at that. The next inning, I slammed it right at him making him drop to the mound to avoid being smacked in the head, which would probably result in a concussion.

The last half of the game my eyes kept drifting to the concession stand, that fucking magnetic pull wouldn't let go of me. I wrestled with myself too many times to count to keep myself from going to the stand to get anything, instead sending my order in with other team mates that'd go up. I watched her as Sam Uley went up to bat in the last damn inning, knowing that he wore down at the end of the games allowed me to zone a bit. I kept my ears on the game hearing the thuds of the ball hitting my mom's mitt twice, and then _crack_. What the fuck? My gaze jerked back to the game where Sam was rounding first, and no one had the ball. Alice spun, and I saw it dropping right at Emmett's glove she pointed, and instantly I knew he'd miss it. I raced to his side seeing it dropping right for his glove, and dropped as it hit his mitt, and caught it before it hit the ground. Mother of God that was fucking close.

The crowd rushed the field, encircling the team for long moments before dispersing allowing me to head for the dugout, and the after party.

"A little distracted there at the end, weren't ya Cullen?" Jacob Black's voice grated on me as I gathered up the team's belongings.

"And if I was, Black?"

He smirked and crossed his arms over the roof of the dugout, leaning down on it. "Just wondering what the hell would get you so preoccupied."

"None of your fucking business, Mutt." I growled out at him as I hooked spare bats into the wall hangings, and grabbed my own bag before climbing out getting ready for the post game lecture Dad always gave. And damn if my gaze didn't move the fucking concession stand again just to look at Bella smiling at Angela and Kate as she handed out the last of the popcorn boxes. Fuck me, her smile immediately made me smile. _Grow some fucking balls, Cullen! _I lectured myself before ripping my gaze from her, and back out to my team who was still celebrating out in the field.

"Well I see two regulars, plus Bella Swan. The other two never caught your eye like that." He narrowed his eyes on me, anger pouring off of him in waves. What the fuck was that? "Stay the hell away from her."

"You know, you're not the first one to tell me that."

"Well considering she's probably just helping out at the game, you'll never see her again. Don't you dare invite her to the after party. A girl like her doesn't need to be wrapped up in a guy like you."

"One false rape accusation and you're public enemy number one. And she's working for my dad in the restaurant." My smirk grew as the anger in his gaze boiled over.

"You fucking lie"

"Nope." I popped the 'p' loudly, crossing my arms in front of me daring him to call me a fucking liar again.

"No. She can't be."

"How much you wanna bet, Black?"

"Hundred bucks says she don't work for you."

"Didn't say she worked for me, she works for my dad, but done. Go find out. Try not to cry when I'm proven right." I called after him as he moved to the stand. I watched, my irritation getting the better of me when she leaned across the counter to hug him. It got worse as I saw him playfully punch her arm. I shifted uneasily, glaring at him as he turned, Bella's attention brought to me. Fuck. He turned away again for a moment and then turned back to me, stunned. I watched Bella as she spoke back to him with a look of confusion and then he turned and glared at me. My glare was lost once I knew I was up a hundred bucks and I gave him my smug, shit eating smirk again.

After a brief goodbye to Bella he moved back over to the fence where he stooped down to grab the hundred dollars he owed me, and handed it off through the fence. "Wipe the grin off, Cullen."

I smirked. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you, Black." I leaned back against the fence as the team came in for post game lecture; mostly my father was telling everyone 'good job' today.

He even congratulated Ben and Lauren on their attempt during the game, though Ben and Lauren both had stepped it up near the end of the game, Ben getting a double, and Lauren getting some singles in. Then he rounded in on Tanya. "Miss Denali." His voice was low, that low calm that scared the shit out of anyone who had common sense. Too bad Whore Bag doesn't have common sense.

"What?" She asked, slouching against the fence.

"If you ever come to practice in the outfits you've been wearing, or come to a game as wasted as you are now ever again, I will be forced to not only remove you from the team, but to also press charges on your family for breaching the contract of the condo lease, and quite possibly run your family name into the ground from pressing said charges. I'm friends with a cop, Tanya. Straighten yourself up. Soon."

She'd straightened up her stance during my father's speech, terror in her eyes. She didn't say another word, only nodded slightly, looking away from him as if he were her father scolding her. _You wish, Bitch_.

The team then dispersed, well mostly just my parents dispersed, going up to the club house leaving the rest of us to chill out on the field.

"Mike, your parents are in Seattle for the weekend right?" Emmett asked.

He nodded and grinned. "Yup, I got everything ready for the party tonight, just please, this time stay away from my mom's crystal figurines? She still won't forgive me for the great panther break of last month."

Emmett laughed and nodded. "Sure man, no problem." His gaze moved to me, his baby blues pleading with me. "You're coming right?"

I laughed, and slung my arms over his broad shoulders. "When don't I come to parties?" I slapped him on the back, then grinned as I took off for his golf cart. "First one home gets the hot water!"

Unfortunately, he caught up to me, and we got there at the same time, resigning to racing to the bathroom first. Another bit of unfortunate events... Alice beat the both of us there. That meant a fucking cold shower for one of us, and it sure as fuck wasn't going to be me.

Two hours, and one blissful hot shower later, I showed up at Mike's open doorstep, the party in full swing, a rap song ending and a hard rock song blaring through the speakers as I made my way inside. I couldn't help the chuckle that escaped me at the chorus of the song, so fitting for the atmosphere. Drinking games were being played, not that I ever played, I didn't need fucking pathetic games to get drunk. Though Emmett boasted he was the best beer pong player there was, I wondered how he could possibly think that considering he was always drunk off his ass after every game he played. I grabbed a bottle of Johnnie from the kitchen and a shot glass before settling on a couch in the den. The party seemed to move in around me as Kate and Tanya showed up in the room, and were followed by Tyler, Eric, and Mike. Along with others I didn't know very well who were all friends of Mike's from Forks. I'd never gone to the small town school. We were sent to the private school in Seattle instead, not that the education was any better. One thing was definitely better there, and that was the amount of ass you could get. Private school girls always seemed to put out a hell of a lot more then public school girls.

I took another shot of Johnnie, and rested my head on the back of the couch, listening to the music as it changed from song to song, alternating between rap and hard rock.

"Didn't that hurt?" I heard Kate asking.

"A bit, but it's healing up finally. Thankfully it didn't take two weeks like it did Tyler's." Tanya was responding, a slight lisp to her words I hadn't noticed the day before. But the more I thought about it, she definitely had it. I was too consumed with the thoughts of Bella, and wondering why everyone wanted to protect her so damn much to hear it.

I pulled my head up, squinting slightly in the dark room. Minimal lighting in Mike's house. It's what made for the best party atmosphere. He only turned on the table lamps, and plugged in the multi colored Christmas lights that never got taken down. His mom was weird like that, left the garland and lights up all year round. Probably 'cause Mike's dad was military, hardly home, and she didn't want to climb up on a ladder to the high cathedral ceilings to take them down.

Tanya was sticking her tongue out, her mouth open to allow Kate to see what had to be a shining silver ball on her tongue. I took another shot, starting to feel the warmth seeping into me, the slight queasiness starting, so I gulped down two more shots to steer right past that stage, and then narrowed my eyes further on Tanya who was dishing out something small. "What the fuck's that?" I asked as she placed that something on her tongue behind the now very visible barbell ball.

She turned and grinned at me. "A tongue ring, Edward. You want an up close and personal look?"

I snorted. "Tanya, I'm not that fucking drunk." I turned my attention to Kate who then pressed her tongue to Mike's and I shook my head, really fucking confused. "What the hell was that?"

Tanya turned back to me, and smirked. "You wanna find out? I'm the one that's got it. I'll share if you want."

I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah at what price?"

She shrugged, and turned away from me, and I leaned forward to grab hold of her denim skirt, my arms getting that tingly heavy feeling. Finally the alcohol was kicking in. "Answer me." I demanded.

She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, dragging it out through her teeth, something that was probably supposed to be meant as sexy and smooth, and really it just grated on my fucking nerves. Once the lip was released, she stuck the tip of her tongue out from between her teeth before answering, tilting her head to the side. "Just a kiss."

I groaned. "What is it, Tanya?"

She grinned. "Just a little sugar, you know, something that'll make you feel really fucking good." She gave a smile that was between mischievous and innocent, one of which was a total crock of shit. Mike and Kate both gave a lazy nod as they lounged on a chair together. It looked like they were both preparing for a fuckawesome ride and I admit it piqued my curiosity.

She held her hand out to me, revealing the small case in her hand that looked like one of those Listerine pocket pack breath strip things. She flipped the front open, and revealed the small papers with fucking Smurfs on them. The song changed again, the song once more completely fucking complimenting my mood at the moment. I shrugged, and let my curiosity win out. The decision had been made by that fucking monster inside of me that had the insane fucking urge to try anything that would push all of the unhappy thoughts out of my head.

She climbed up on my lap, straddling my hips before she placed the strip of paper on her tongue behind the barbell then leaned down, thrusting her tongue into my mouth, pressing it against mine. I scraped the paper off her tongue and pulled back because I'm a selfish bastard like that, if she wanted any she had her own. I leaned my head back, letting the drug dissolve enough before I swallowed the remnants and then looked back up at her, greedy bitch. She was grinding herself against me, no doubt trying like hell to get me hard, but that shit just didn't work anymore. My dick didn't react to crack whores anymore.

"Now where's my kiss, Edward?"

I smirked up at her before pushing her off of me. "You had it when you gave the shit to me. Have fun at the party."

"What the fuck did I do, Edward?" The whore actually had the fucking audacity to look hurt by my denial of her.

"You consumed far too many drugs, so now you're a coked up whore. Besides that, you're also a fucking slut because you'll fuck anyone your parents tell you to to keep them in the high part of society they are so desperate to be a part of. Unfortunately for all of you, you're trash, and that's all you'll ever be." I couldn't feel anything but pity for her. I couldn't hate her, because it really wasn't her fault that her parents fucking used the shit out of her. On the other hand, she could have told them right where to shove it instead of prostituting herself out. Yeah, I was certain she got her weekly allowances for fucking someone. She turned, and ran from the room, leaving the other occupants shocked and staring at me. "What?" I asked them, irritated. "Like any of you would fuck that."

A majority of the room turned away from me, but leave it to Jessica to move over to me, and sit down. "You know Tanya's life isn't all that right? If she refuses, you know her father beats the shit out of her, don't you?"

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Right. And how often does she ever refuse?"

"When it's not you? All the time." Her gaze bore into me, trying to convey something that I couldn't read clearly with my alcohol muddled brain. She got up and left me alone with Johnnie, who was going to help me take away the irritation of Tanya, and the lecture Jessica had given me on the aforementioned crack whore.

I didn't let myself think about the crack whore and her friend for much longer after they left the room. That stupid conversation must have lasted at least an hour and I found myself merely staring at the amber liquid as I swished it around inside the bottle. I'm not even sure how long I was lost in my own miniature ocean before I tore my eyes away. It felt as if I had melted into the couch and it was an oddly comfortable feeling. I began to appraise my surroundings and although I didn't remember everyone leaving I wasn't surprised to find I was alone.

The Christmas lights seemed to shine beyond themselves like they had their very own aura and the houseplants and the one tree that had oddly shaped leaves seemed to move like snakes. The ceiling was stucco and all the little points seemed to move around like bugs. The more I thought about it the more they absolutely looked like bugs. I wasn't a little girl, or a pussy but I really needed to stop thinking about bugs.

My thoughts instead turning to Bella. Sweet, innocent, doe eyed, virginal Bella. Bella that hid one hot fucking body under the professional clothes. The Cullen Club T-shirt she'd worn to the game, along with the fucking short denim shorts really did wonders for the subtle curves and long legs. I rested my head back on the back of the couch again and I turned my head thinking the walls would be safe to look at. They too seemed to move, but didn't. They slowly puffed up and then back down, over and over again until it was calming to watch. This room was quickly becoming my favorite room... ever.

I thought back to the close proximity she and I had been in in the break room yesterday. I concentrated on the complete feminine scent that was so Bella it was ridiculous. Some sort of combination of strawberries, flowers, and sugar. I wanted to bottle that shit up so I could drink it in. It was a combination I'd never smelled before, and my God it was fucking intoxicating. Not to mention the God damn magnetic pull that I could barely ignore. Suddenly an extreme euphoric feeling came over me. I had felt great before, but it was like I was on a roller coaster and right now I was definitely at the top. God, what the hell had Tanya given me? I wanted to find Bella right then and drive my suddenly very rigid dick into her tight little body.

I went to staring back at the ceiling and willed the little dots to configure into something better and thankfully they obliged. So many fantasies played out on Mike's den ceiling, so real, that I could almost feel the friction of her hand on me over my jeans. I closed my eyes, moving the fantasies to the backs of my eyelids.

Bella took my hand pulling me off of the couch, she led me out to the living room to the stairs that led to the three bedrooms on the second floor. I saw my brother and sister with their respective loves staring at me looking really confused as I rounded the corner, following her into a bedroom. She turned, her hair seeming lighter when it was caught in the moonlight. "What are you doing here, Bella?"

She stopped, looking stunned for a moment before a smirk crossed her lips. "Don't you want me here?" She asked, almost sounding hurt.

"God, yes." I moved past her to the bed, collapsing on it.

"Don't you want me?" She asked, now standing between my knees at the edge of the bed.

I groaned in response. Her hands rested midway up my thigh, her fingertips edging cautiously to the button and fly of my pants. I allowed my head to drop back down to the mattress, giving her wordless permission to do whatever the fuck she wanted to me. I was riding too fucking high to really give a shit. _Papa Smurf I love you._

The button of my pants was released, and the waistband was being tugged down my hips to rest on my thighs as her warm mouth surrounded me. I gasped in reaction, this wasn't exactly what I thought would come from little innocent, virginal Bella. Her mouth was doing amazing things, things I couldn't quite figure out exactly what she was doing. I felt her tongue leaving out from her lips, sliding along the sides of my dick, _Jesus Christ, how did she know I liked that so fucking much?_

It was a prep sucking, because it wasn't moments later before she climbed up on the bed over me, and I was able to take in more of her then I had been able to before. She still wore the Cullen Club T-shirt, but her shorts were a denim skirt. Why did it seem like her breasts were larger then I remembered them? Oh well, my fucking fantasy. I was enjoying it.

She straddled my hips, and rubbed herself on me. Fucking hell she was wet and ready. I grabbed hold of her hips, and held her steady above me. "Fuck, Bella, you really want this?"

She nodded, and gave me a grin that told me she knew exactly what she was doing. I plunged myself into her, burying deep inside her wetness as my hands moved up her torso, grabbing her breasts, squeezing hard which made her scream out in pleasure. Her tempo immediately went from slow and steady to fast and hard, and God help me that shit was hot. She clenched me tightly as she came only moments later, and I growled as I grabbed hold of her hips as I flipped her over, gripping hold of her ass as I took control. My pants fell to where I knelt on the bed as I pounded into her, digging my fingers into her flesh, kneading her. I held her there with one hand while the other moved to her clit, rubbing vigorously causing another orgasm to rip through her body. A growl emerged from the back of my throat as I sped up, releasing inside of her.

God in heaven I loved this trip. It was the best damn trip I'd ever had before. I'll say it again. _I love you Papa Smurf. _

The next morning I woke up with one of the worst fucking headaches I'd ever had in my life. My bed didn't smell right. My pillow wasn't right. I pried my eyes open, and realized, I hadn't left Mike's. I was in the room I'd fantasized fucking Bella in. Or had it been a fantasy? I was under blankets, I was fucking naked, and there was a fucking warm body behind me, pressed up against me. No, it felt wrong from Bella's little frame. Too large tits pressed against my back. I jumped out of the bed, and spun, seeing Tanya stretching cat like between the sheets.

She lazily opened her eyes. "Heya, Edward."

"What the FUCK?" I wildly searched the room for my pants. I found them quickly, and pulled them on. "What the hell did you give to me?"

She grinned, still stretching. "Just a bit of LSD."

"_Acid! _You bitch! You low life crack head whore! You couldn't get what you wanted from me sober, so you give me fucking acid to get what you want?" I grabbed my shirt and threw it on, grabbing my boxers from the floor on the other side of the bed, slipped on my shoes without the socks, not even sure I wanted them really. "You're a fucking psychotic bitch! You're off the team, I'm placing a God damn restraining order on your ass."

She smirked, seeming to think I was bluffing. "Who's Bella? The new bitch that started Friday?"

"You fucking go near her, I'll kill you."

"Death threats now, Edward? Really? Don't you think you're over reacting a little?"

As I ran from the house I never wanted to fucking hit a woman like I wanted to hit her. I'd never felt the desire to kill another human being so intensely then I did in that moment. The Denalis wouldn't know what hit them when the law suits started pouring in.

I walked back to the house, gripping my hair tightly, yanking on the strands trying to get a hold of myself, trying to keep myself moving forward so I wouldn't turn around go back to Mike's and kill Tanya. Jasper came up behind me, throwing his arm around my shoulders in a half hearted man-hug, then let go of me, walking in silence knowing if I wanted to speak I would.

And I did want to speak. In what I thought what the fucking fantasy, I'd seen my siblings and Jasper and Rose staring at me confused to hell and back. Why hadn't they stopped me? "Jazz?"

"Mm-hmm?" He hummed a response.

"Why the fuck didn't you stop me?" I turned my infuriated gaze onto him, taking him back for a moment, stunned at my wrath.

"I... You looked like you knew what you were doing. You looked her right in the eyes and followed her."

I shook my head. "I didn't know it was the crack whore, Jazz."

"Who the hell did you think it was?" He asked me.

Good question. Could I answer him truthfully?

When I didn't answer him right away he tried a different approach. "Why didn't you think it was her?"

"She slipped me fucking LSD." I sighed, and yanked on my hair again. "I knew it was a drug. I didn't know it was _that_ drug, but knowing it was a drug fucking stays between you and me."

He nodded. Only Jasper knew of my issues with trying new things, and the current issues I had with pain killers. Fucking ACL. "You didn't think to ask her which drug it was?"

"Do I ever?"

He relented, and sighed, ruffling his own hair in agitation. "So what happened last night?"

"Fuck. The trip I had was fucking awesome as hell. Until I woke up." I couldn't pussy up and tell Jasper I had a God damn school boy crush on Bella, couldn't tell him that right at that moment, I was planning on going to the restaurant for dinner so I could see her again today. "I thought Tanya was someone she wasn't. And fuck you, Jazz, I'm not telling you who the hell I thought she was. I fucked her at least once that I know of. I fucking called her by the other girl's name, more than once, and she answered. The bitch knew exactly what the fuck she was doing. I'm putting a restraining order on the crack whore."

"So she's off the team?" He asked stepping up onto the front porch of my parent's home.

"Damn fucking straight." The door jerked open before I could open it, and there was Emmett grinning like the God damn Cheshire cat out of that Disney move. Oh Fuck wasn't that supposed to just be one huge acid trip? Enough acid, Cullen. No more of that shit.

"Someone's doing the walk of shame."

"Bitch drugged me." I snapped pushing past him, moving toward the stairs to my father's home library where I knew he'd be. It's where he always was Sunday mornings.

"Tanya drugged you?"

"LSD."

He looked impressed. I wanted to put him through the damn wall. "She gave you acid?" He frowned then. "That's why you followed her?"

"Thought she was someone else." I called back before turning down the hallway almost running into the pixie I call my sister. "Yes, Alice?"

"She really is screwed up, Edward." She said softly. "She's a victim too."

"Doesn't mean she can get away with drugging someone, and then taking advantage of the situation." I moved around her, heading for Dad's library.

"I already told Dad what we saw last night."

I stopped, then turned to look back at her. "What did you see?"

She sighed, and crossed her arms across her little frame. "You two talking. Then she crawled onto your lap after you'd had a few drinks, I thought she kissed you, and then you pushed her off. A couple hours later, she came back in wearing Kate's Cullen Club T-shirt, went up to you, and then led you upstairs. Jazz and I went to check on you, and trust me, what I saw was not something I wanted to see ever again."

I groaned. "Sorry, Alice." I started to go into the library, when she stopped me again.

"What does Papa Smurf have to do with anything that was going on in that room?"

All I could do was shrug. "I don't know, Alice." Her gaze intensified, as if she could flashback to last night and see exactly what I'd been saying. I turned away from her and moved into the library, not wanting her to use her piercing gaze to tear my head apart piece by piece to get the answer.

My father helped me figure out how to go about doing things. Agreed on all my points, file a restraining order, kick her off the baseball team, and from her possessing drugs, it was out of the question that he would allow them to stay on the grounds any longer.

I sat with him while he filled out the eviction notice, and then we left for the police department. I wasn't going to press charges on her, God knew she was fucked up enough, and I wasn't that big of an asshole. He helped me file the restraining order, to keep her 100 yards away from me at all costs. He also alerted the police to the fact that the Denalis had a week to move out of their condo for a breach of contract, and told them he may need their help in getting them off of the grounds.

I hid out on the golf course the rest of the day, taking my time with the game, making sure that I was ready for the leagues in two weeks. Five hours and 18 holes later, it was time for dinner. As I made my way back up to the clubhouse, I was secretly elated to see Bella's truck in the parking lot. I set my bag down in the supply shop behind the counter, and handed my score card over to Carmen, asking to look at my teammate's cards. She kept team's cards all in one portfolio together, and it was a good thing to see how Mike, Tyler and Eric were all doing on their games. I looked each card over, not bad, considering Mike had only been out twice so far this year, his lowest score was a 74. Not bad at all. Eric and Tyler were both breaking even on par, and my score today was a 70. Two strokes below par. Mike needed to get out on the course more often. Though if the fucker knew about Tanya and I last night, I wasn't sure if I wanted to go out with him. I shot him a text instead. I wasn't in the mood to deal with him today.

The second I moved into the Dining Room archway, I felt that damn pull. Instantly my eyes jerked up, meeting her startled expression. It reminded me of a deer in headlights. Unsure if she should stay in the room or run. The fantasy I'd had last night rushed through my mind again, this time replaced with a perfect version of Bella, not the distorted, completely wrong version of her. She smiled softly at me, and pointed to herself and Angela with the question in her eyes of who did I want to serve me. I looked pointedly at her and smiled. I saw her breath hitch for a moment before she nodded and pointed to a small table along the wall in her section.

I took a seat, not bothering with a menu, knowing what I already wanted. A Bella on a stick, to go. When she approached me, it looked like she was holding herself back from something. God only knows what that was. I wondered if she felt the pull just as I did, and was restraining herself from racing over to me to throw herself in my lap the way I wanted to do with her. Well... I wanted her to run to me so I could pull her into my lap.

Seriously, what the _fuck_ was wrong with me?

"What can I get you, Edward?"

I raised an eyebrow, pleased that she called me by my first name, comfortable enough for that. Angela took two months before she'd stop calling Emmet and I Mr. Cullen, and Alice Miss Cullen. "Tell Alistair to get me my usual, with a Coke."

She laughed softly, Jesus that sound did horrible yet wonderful fucking things to my dick. I was really glad it was under the table where she couldn't see it straining to attack her. "Alright then. I'll be right back with your drink."

As she turned and walked away, I couldn't help leaning to the side a bit to watch her walk away. Those black pants did amazing things to her ass. I righted myself after I realized I was being too fucking obvious, and leaned back in the chair, trying to look like I didn't give a shit that she was returning, and I wasn't wishing that she was wearing the white button down shirt instead of the black one. It didn't stop me from undressing her with my eyes, and it sure as hell didn't stop my dick brain from imagining what the hell was under the all black exterior.

She was far too busy to allow us any time to talk while she was attending the other customers, but I definitely watched every move she made as she moved around the room. I saw every time she double checked where a chair leg was, or made sure she paid attention to where Jessica Stanley's mother's purse was right in the middle of the fucking walkway. I allowed myself a soft chuckle when I saw her kick the offending purse under the table, 'on accident'. I knew how that woman could be. Overbearing, a complete uptight bitch. I didn't blame her one bit.

I hung around even after I'd finished my double bacon cheeseburger and fries. I figured, if my father wanted me to show some responsibility that I would help everyone clean up the clubhouse. Besides, it also let me feel that addicting magnetic pull that drew me to Bella.

I started in the supply shop, helping Carmen straighten things up, putting things back where they needed to go, and restocking the shelves. I was pulling a box of golf balls out of a larger box, filling in the gap on the shelf when I heard the crash in the kitchen.

"_Mother fucker! God damn piece of shit!_" That voice belonged to the virginal Bella. Virginal my ass.

I dropped the box, and raced to the Dining Room looking for her. I heard Angela's panicked voice filtering through the kitchen opening. "Bella! Oh my God, are you OK?" She gasped, and I raced around the counter to the back where a large chef's knife lay on the floor, blood down the blade. Bella was pressing a white kitchen cloth to her hand as she leaned back against the wall. The color was gone from her face, and the shade of pink that normally graced her features was turning a sour apple green.

"Bella?" I asked softly. I really didn't want her to puke. Her gaze jerked up to me, her eyes looked fucking wild, like a trapped animal. "Bella, are you alright?"

"The blood. It's making me nauseous."

I nodded, and flipped my phone open sending _911 CCH Kitchen_ to my father.

I hoped to God he understood the text.

**A/N: So that was the longest chapter I have ever written. For anything. A little over 12K words. I will probably be writing longer chapters like this. **

**Songs in this chapter: Avenged Sevenfold "Nightmare", Shinedown "Sound of Madness", Drowning Pool "Sinner", Skillet "Monster" and "Thirst is Taking Over." In order of song mentions.**

**Fic Recs: Emancipation Proclamation by kharizzmatic. Excellent story, still not finished yet, but it's fantastic! You can find it on Blogspot only I believe. It's one story that inspired this fic :) **

**Leave reviews! All reviewers will get a preview of Chapter 4. **


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